


The Final Countdown

by LostInFiction13



Category: Murder Most Unladylike Series - Robin Stevens
Genre: Oops
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-21
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-12 13:15:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28885974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LostInFiction13/pseuds/LostInFiction13
Summary: A little thing based off Adam Silvera's book "They both die at the end" which is great, I love it.The two "main" characters were (unknowingly) chosen by the Discord.Umm that's it I think.
Relationships: Amina El Maghrabi/Daisy Wells, Daisy Wells & Hazel Wong, Daisy Wells & May Wong
Comments: 4
Kudos: 9





	1. Daisy

**Author's Note:**

> TW: death, serious injuries, 
> 
> I think that's it for now, I will update if there are anymore. 
> 
> If there's any weird spellings,blame autocorrect

**[Daisy,**  
**12/04/2022**  
**00:01]**  
  
Arthur Conan Doyle once said "Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth."

And the truth is, the phone is ringing. Loudly. It should be impossible- she had turned the phone off as soon as she got in from work last night, wanting nothing more than to sleep. 3 hours later, the phone is ringing. Which could only mean one thing. It was them. Oh god, it was them. It was them. It was them. No, no, no it couldn't be. But as Arthur Conan Doyle said, it must be.

She slips out of bed, shuffling along to her desk where her phone lay, discarded. Her hands shake as she picks up the singing phone. Unknown caller. Oh no, oh no, _oh no_.

Without really realising what she is doing, she accepts the call, holding the phone to her ear.

"Hello?" The voice crackles down the line. It sounds bored, uninterested. She doesn't reply; knows what the message will say. She's heard the stories. Just never thought she'd become one yet.

"Hello?" The voice comes again, distant and impatient. "Can you please answer me?"

The words are polite, the tone is not. She sighs and nods her head before remembering they can't see her. They can control her life, but they can't see her.

"Hello." She tries to match their tone, but her voice shakes as violently as her hands. It's never done that before. This is stupid. Why should she be scared? This happened to everyone at some point in their lives. Really, she was lucky to have lasted as long as she did. Twenty years was longer than some of her friends got; more than her brother got.

"Is this Daisy Wells?"

She wants to laugh, to joke, to tell them they forgot the 'Honourable'. She wants to snap back a retort, something witty, something clever. But she can't. The words get stuck in her throat and for the first time since Daisy can remember, she's speechless.

"Yes." She croaks out instead, even though they already know. They'll have had her name down on a list somewhere since the day she was born. Or perhaps not. Perhaps they'd just decided as she grew up, impatient to be an adult and decided to send her a massive "fuck you" as an early birthday gift.

"I'm sorry to inform you but you will die at some point in the next 24 hours."

Daisy's face remains impassive; she knew they were going to say that. She'd been with Bertie when he got his call, and with George. She knows the drill, the 'almost but not quite' formal voice with its monotonous tone, that drops the biggest bombshell of a person's life. Literally. They're dead the next day.

She switches off the call, dropping the phone on the floor. The flimsy screen smashes, shattering the glass over her and Hazel's face as the impact lights it up again. 

Oh god, _Hazel_. How was she going to tell Hazel? They usually call each other every morning to check neither of them had got the... _Well that_ , but by that point, it could be too late. Besides, her phone probably doesn't work anymore anyway. The cracks look pretty serious- it can be safely assumed it's taken it's last breath. Daisy chooses to ignore the little voice in her head that adds "just like you."

She paces around the room, eyeing the posters stuck haphazardly to the wall. What did it matter that her phone was broken? She couldn't ring Hazel about this, could she?

"Hi Hazel! Sorry to wake you up, but I got the call. May as well cancel any plans you had for my birthday, looks like I won't be here to enjoy them."

What a cheery conversation that would be. Maybe she could text it along with a meme, add a lol at the end and pretend everything was okay. Daisy shakes her head.

"Don't be stupid. You can't tell your best friend you're going to die over a phone call!"

She takes up her pacing again, fully aware that literally anything could happen and it would all be over. She had to go see Hazel though, as soon as possible really. Would she be awake? Most likely, her sister's were over for the Easter holidays, and everyone knew how bubbly they could get.

She sighs and sits down at her desk, switching on the lamp. It sends a bright glow over the piles of unsorted papers and Daisy flinches. This is stupid. So, so stupid. Her lamp wasn't going to kill her yesterday, why should it today? It's not like it is animate, has feelings, has a personal vendetta against her. It's a lamp for crying out loud.

Hunting around for a pen (why is there never one when you need it?), she grabs a piece of paper, watching out for paper cuts. At the top, in the biggest, most readable writing she can possibly manage, she scrawls:

_To Amina,_

And then undernearth that, after careful consideration, she writes:

_By some sick twist of fate, it there is such a thing, I got my call the one time you weren't here. Don't feel guilty about that please, I very much suspect I would have got it either way, and you know how good I am with suspects._

_How was Egypt? How are your parents? And the pyramids? I guess they haven't changed really, they have been around since Egyptian times. And no I won't specify if I mean the pyramids or your parents. (I hope that made you smile)._

_I'm going to go visit Hazel soon, as soon as I've finished this and said goodbye to my room. It's strange to think that I won't be back here, even though I hate it anyway. It's a shame you only realise how much you've taken for granted when your knocking on death's door. I already knew that of course, from Bertie._

_Hey! I'll get to see Bertie again. Or maybe I'll come back as a reincarnation. Just save me from the Breath of Life people won't you?_

_I suppose I better go now, live my last day to its fullest I guess._

_I love you,_  
_Daisy_

_P.S. would you please look after Hazel for me? She's still a little cut up about Alexander (understandable really, he was just beginning to grow into his arms). You remember how she was when she thought I'd died in Egypt- I don't want her to go through that again. She ~~is~~ was my best friend you know. _  
_D x_

Daisy puts the lid back on the pen with a soft click and leans back in her chair. Before she can really acknowledge what is happening, she's toppling backwards, the wheels on her desk spinning out beneath her as she overbalances. It's something that's happened 1,000 times before, but it doesn't stop the sirens from going off in Daisy's head, and her life flash before her eyes. She lands on the floor with a thud, feet waving in the air and a pounding in her head.

No no no **no** , this couldn't be it. How embarrassing would that be? She'd bungee- jumped off the Eiffel Tower for crying out loud. She was not going to end up dead from falling off a chair.

She rolls over, laying flat on the floor on her stomach. No broken bones. That was a start at least. But one thing was for certain. She can't stay here. She has to get to Hazel ASAP.

For someone who claims to "not be scared of absolutely anything in the world", Daisy Wells looks frightfully pale as she leaves her house, backpack pressed against her. She's wearing one of Amina's hoods, which usually look small, or at least correctly fitting, but in the midnight gloom, it hangs too big as if Daisy is folding in on herself, already disappearing, hiding from the world.

She dodges as a car swerves towards her. They weren't getting her that easily. Them up there with their big stupid powers and they're big, stupid phones. No sir, not today. As she walks, Daisy formulates a plan in her mind, how she'll act, what she'll say when she tells Hazel.

There were a few possible outcomes.

• Hazel cries. She can deal with this, and Daisy would probably cry too.  
• Hazel doesn't believe her. That one would be tricky, but it's also the least likely. And she can always quote Doyle at her  
• Hazel gets angry. Slightly trickier, angry Hazel was scary  
• Hazel says she'll spend all day with Daisy. Accept, it would be nice to have the company. But if Daisy suddenly felt the need to stop breathing, Hazel was to look away.

Every outcome's covered by the time Daisy reaches Hazel's life, miraculously still alive. The lights are on, as she expected, so Daisy knocks loudly on the door. She could let herself in; she has a key, but she knows from experience that is not a good idea- death by flying frying pan was slightly too theatrical even by Daisy's standards.

Daisy thought she was prepared for anything. However, and it did not happen often (according to her), she was wrong. Daisy was not prepared to be met, at 00:47, by a Hazel Wong already crying her eyes out.


	2. May

[May  
12/04/2022  
00:03] 

Some are bound to die young. By dying young, a person stays young in people's memory. If he burns brightly before he dies, his brightness shines for all time.  
~ Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn ~

The phone call is almost drowned out by the noise coming from the TV. Hazel's put Frozen on; I'm not entirely sure why, she's half asleep in her chair, her phone open at old pictures of her and Alexander and pretending not to cry. Rose is curled up, reading as usual and I'm sat here wondering why I was so obsessed with this film when it first came out. 

My phone, so scratched and dented I'm surprised it still works, vibrates on the table, just as Elsa is singing Let It Go and running up the mountain. With no shoes on. Bit daft really. 

Reaching over, I pick it up, wishing not for the first time that my siblings, particularly Hazel, were a bit more careful with their belongings. I know she does it to fit in, the same way she used to scuff her shoes and climb into trunks (yes, I've read her case files.) Still, it's all a tad drastic in my opinion, and I am one to appreciate theatrics every now and then. 

Unknown number. 

My heart skips a beat, and I know there's a big smile on my face. That's awful writing I know, but it is what it is. A few days ago, some of the really popular girls in my class asked for my number and, although I suspected it was a dare, this could be them. I don't even think why they'd be calling at midnight until I answer the phone. Maybe it's homework. Year seven is a whole lot harder than year six. 

"Hello?" 

That doesn't sound like any of my classmates. There's no emotion in the voice. It seems disembodied somehow too. I don't know why I think that seeing as I can't physically see down the phone (even if this was a facetime call, the difference would probably still be limited; I really need to save up to get my screen fixed). I say hello anyway, because it's polite and I've been working on my manners recently. Apparently now that I'm 11, it's time to start acting "a little more mature". When Hazel told me that, I told her I didn't want to be a cheese. Needless to say, Hazel didn't find it anywhere near as funny as I did. Hazel's friend, Beanie, did though, although on reflection she could've just been being nice. Beanie's like that; I hope we can go see her and Kitty soon. 

"Is this May Wong?"

I'm a little surprised by that- surely if they were calling me they'd know my name? It must be someone from school or something because they know my English name. Maybe it's a prank, and they're using one of those voice apps to distort their voice? Yes, that must be it. Well, two can play at that game. 

"Yeah. But you can't fool me, my sister is a detective, she'll arrest you!"

Technically, Hazel can't arrest people. And she hasn't been a detective for a few months now. But the person on the phone doesn't need to know that. 

There's a pause on the other end of the line and I know I've got them. They'll probably hang up, or switch to their normal voices or...

"I'm sorry to inform you but you will die at some point in the next 24 hours." 

...or not. 

I drop the phone with a crash.

Rose, who I know has been secretly watching me over the top of her book since my phone rang, is by my side in seconds as the world spins. Hazel can't have heard the conversation, but she's gathered what it was; I can hear her crying already. She'll have her head buried in her knees for this, the same way she did for Alexander when he got the call. Life really does suck sometimes. 

The mysteries of Frozen seem a long time ago as I sit back down on the floor, accepting the mug of hot chocolate Rose passes me. I probably shouldn't- she could've poisoned it for all I know, but Rose is my sister and even though this is the Day of Doom, I don't think she'd do that. I sip at it, salty tears mixing with the warm sweetness.

I'm eleven years old. What about my life? I've only just started high school, only just grown out of my "pirate phase", I haven't done anything on my bucket list (because yes, I have one. Try having a Daisy Wells in your life and not.) Sure, I haven't been the most reserved with my life, unlike Rose and arguably Hazel, but you can't really do much when you're 11 and tiny. That's not without lack of trying by the way. 

Hazel won't stop crying. Which is understandable, but I kind of wish she'd comfort me. I'm the one who isn't ever going to become a teenager. Hazel's life became interesting when she turned 13; mine will have been and gone. Is that selfish of me? Perhaps. 

But so is the world. That's what everyone says. Hazel, Daisy, Daisy's Uncle, Hazel's other friends. It upsets me I don't have more of my own friends, that the people I get along the most with I only know because Hazel knew them first. But hey! It makes this easier I suppose. And besides, Hazel's friends are so much cooler than any of the dim-witted fools in my class. 

Sorry that was me trying to make a joke. I didn't even make me smile and I usually laugh my head off at my own jokes (yes, I'm somehow that person). 

Everything's a bit hazy, like my brain doesn't really process what's going on which is probably why it takes a second to register the door bell is ringing. I stiffen. It could be someone coming to kill me. It's not even been an hour and my potential 24 hour day is already over. 

Hazel's answering the door. Oh no, oh no, oh no. I stand, quaking behind an armchair, knowing it'll will do nothing to protect me, but feeling oddly comforted at the same. 

Oh, it's only Daisy. Hazel must have texted her to tell her the umm... Situation. To be honest, I'm surprised she came, although honoured. Daisy's the type of person who will happily do the craziest things all day, everyday, really using the "I can't die until I get a call" thing to its full advantage. I don't think she realises comas, broken legs, necks everything like that can still happen. There's no phone calls to warn us of them. Anyway, Daisy's the type of person that will go galavanting here, there and everywhere, usually dragging either Hazel or Amina, her girlfriend (or sometimes both!) with her but once she's in, she's in. Or at least, usually. 

I don't register the look of sad confusion on Daisy's face until she's saying:

"Watson? Why are you-? What's the matter?" She walks over to where Hazel was sat before, picking up her phone to where it's open, still glowing on the photo of Hazel and Alexander, arm in arm, their smiles not quite reaching their eyes. Two hours later, Alexander had died. 

Daisy puts the phone down gently, breathing in deeply and looking as sombre as I've ever seen her. 

"I never understood what Hazel saw in you, your arms where far too long but you were kind hearted, I'll admit that. And I do miss you, no matter how annoying you were." 

A small smile graces her lips, a little huff of laughter escaping. But Hazel's face has fallen again, some of the colour that came to her cheeks when Daisy arrived, draining away. And I know why. Daisy has always teased Alexander about his supposedly long arms, and jokingly asked Hazel why she doesn't find someone "better." But she had never ever said she misses him. We all know she does, the same way she misses George but where she voices her longing to see him again, with Alexander she remains silent. So why has she started now? 

Hazel's walking towards Daisy, her hands grasping her wrists. I only half focus as she asks Daisy something, my mind already whirring. 

Why is Daisy here at 1 o'clock in the morning? The only plausible explanation has to be an emergency; the last time she came this early was when Bertie got his call and even then she rang before hand. Amina's not here, I realise with a start and then my heart starts beating because if Amina got the call, then Daisy will be shattered. It took Hazel ages to bounce back after Alexander, and she still had George and everyone then. 

"Amina's in Egypt." A small voice whispers in my head. Relief fills my body, because obviously Amina won't be with Daisy. And Egypt is 2 hours ahead of us so it's unlikely it's that. 

So what is it? Daisy obviously doesn't know about me, because otherwise Hazel wouldn't be asking her why she was here and Daisy wouldn't be looking like she's dodging her way around something. So if it's not Amina, and it's not me, and everyone else it could possibly be it isn't, that can only mean one thing. 

Oh no. Oh, no no no. Oh no. 

I reach the conclusion at the same time Daisy looks at the floor, the most defeated I've ever seen her and whispers, so quietly I almost think I'm imagining it. 

"I... I got it, Hazel... I got the call." 

There's a silence that stretches out seemingly for days (although of course, it can not) and then the whole world starts spinning, there's a crash (or is it a thump?), a cry and then everything fades to black. 


	3. Chapter 3

**[Daisy**   
**12/04/2022**   
**01:23]**

In the words of Zig Ziglar "F.E.A.R. has two meanings: Forget Everything And Run' or 'Face Everything And Rise'. The choice is yours." 

In this instance, Daisy decides to Run. With a capital R. May Wong, her best friend's little sister, who incidentally also got the call today, is also running with her. If Daisy was feeling sad about her own call, it was nothing compared to what she is feeling like now. She's been watching her friends and family die around her for years, but none of them have ever been as young as May. It's heartbreaking to realise. 

Both of them would've liked to stay in the quiet comforts of the Wong's family home, but as Daisy liked to whisper into the dark as a child. "If you're going to go out, go out with a bang." Which is why she's running. And not because she's terrified, quite literally, for her life. 

Daisy has spent the last ten years of her life being completely reckless. By the age of 13, she was chasing murderers with nothing but her plucky courage. They'd laughed in her face, waved knives, guns even, tantalisingly close to her face, taunting her,but Daisy had stood her ground. Why? Because in this world, you don't die until you get the call. 

Which she now had. 

It would've been safer to stay at Hazel's, but once the call comes through, your fate is inevitable. Hazel has seen enough dead bodies as it is, without adding her best friend and her sister to the list. Daisy doesn't know where she's going. Where can you hide when your whole life is on display to the ones in "power". When did they start living in a real life Hunger Games? 

Daisy vaguely remembers a time when this freakish "death call" rule wasn't in place. Not very well; she had been four when they had decided to introduce it. The population was too big, and getting bigger so they'd introduced the stupid phone calls. Like animals for slaughter. 

She shudders, despite the layers upon layers of clothes Hazel has forced upon her. They smell of her, and Daisy tries to discreetly inhale some of the perfumey scent coming off of the scarf. Is that weird? Perhaps. But still, it's nice to have these clothes with her, even if they are a bit small. Ever since Daisy met Hazel, when they were both measley (not literally) 12 year olds, they'd done everything together. It felt right she'd be here today too. 

And of course, she has mini- Hazel to look after. Daisy smiles, reaching for May's hand. At 11 years old and very nearly 21, they really don't need to, but it's comforting. May looks awfully like Hazel did at that age, a far cry from the little 6 year old that ran around yelling about pirates that December in Egypt. She's grown up so much since then. It just sucks she won't get to finish. 

They slow to a walk as the church clock chimes out, the bells pealing. 2am. A maximum of 22 hours left. 

None of the shops are open. Daisy can't decide whether or not that's a good thing. Closed shops mean less people. But it also means nowhere to rest, nowhere to hide. 

"Where do you want to go?" 

May pauses, contemplating. It's a big question, a heavy one rather, which is why Daisy asked May rather than just picking herself. That and the fact that the only things Daisy really cares about are people. One's in Egypt and they've just walked away from the other. Places, on the other hand, meant nothing to her. She's been to them all, never getting attached, just there for the fun, or for the crime. (solving, not doing.) May, has not had such a pleasure. 

"The park." 

Daisy pauses, just for a fraction of a second, and then nods. May goes to the park everyday, so as much as it doesn't make sense as to why she'd like to go there, it does at the exact same time. 

Daisy herself hasn't been to the park in a while. Last time she did, her and Hazel had an argument and then Alexander got his call. Daisy, who normally prided herself on her rational belief, the using of her brain rather than her mind and emotions, had taken it as a sign. A superstition one may say. She'd only been back once since then, in the same day, and never again. She had planned on never ever coming back here but oh well. 

They would be pretty safe at the park. It was big and wide and open. What could go wrong? Daisy ignored the little voice in her head. The one that squeaks at her in its Hazel voice, reminding her of the little boy that had met his unlikely end here. That wouldn't happen to them, Daisy would make sure if it. She was going to look after the pair of them for as long as she possibly could. 

Maybe, just maybe, there was a way she could outlive it. Show those stupid people and their stupid spy equipment who was really in charge. 

The park gate squeaks open. Unsurprisingly, the area is deserted. May runs straight to the swings and sits down, pushing off from the ground and soaring through the sky. Back and forth, back and forth. Like a pendulum. Daisy stays back, her fingers running over the flaking paint over the gate, the metal cold and sharp beneath her fingers. 

It had been raining. The ground was slick beneath their feet as Hazel and then Daisy ran across the field. Daisy can't remember what they argued about now; only remembered the way she hurried away from Hazel, sprinting back home, leaving her best friend in the cruel hands of the elements. They hadn't spoken until hours later, when Alexander got the call, and then they'd both met here, at the slide in the park and apologised. They said goodbye to Alexander too. That was the last time Daisy ever saw him. 

May calls out to her and Daisy turns, watching as her pseudo sister grins down at her, barely visible against the inky backdrop of the night sky. For the first time in her life, she's wary. Wary of the way the chain creaks under the shifting weight. Wary of the way the wind rustling in the trees and the sound of animals snapping twigs under foot. Wary of everything. 

The question is: Does she face the fear, or run and hide, only delaying the inevitability? 

Daisy prides herself on never being scared. Of always looking danger in the face and saying "I don't care." even if inside she was screaming for help. She wasn't scared when she ran from Miss Griffin, or from Michael Butler or even when she was floating around in the Nile, completely lost and totally alone. She wasn't scared when she jumped off buildings, or ran in front of traffic on the pursuit for something but never quite knowing what. Daisy Wells does not get scared. 

So Daisy Wells does what she does best. She faces the fear and tries not to run.   



End file.
